Kamaru Usman takes issue with how quickly MMA fans can go against fighters. ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ finds himself in unfamiliar territory – with three consecutive losses. Usman hadn’t lost in over nine years and had five title defenses before the losing streak. He shares his current state with former champions Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, who might no longer be in their prime.
The former P4P King lost two title bouts against Leon Edwards and a short-notice middleweight fight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. Many believe he deserved to snag that win, yet are merciless overall. The Nigerian-born Usman and Israel Adesanya were the two African kings who kickstarted quite a legacy. Usman gave it his all in all of those fights. As such, he takes issue with the ‘washed up’ allegation.
For a long, long time there, I was entertaining and entertaining, and entertaining was the thing for me, …I didn’t care what I was going through; was battling physically, mentally, emotionally. And the same thing with Israel Adesanya, which is why you saw a ton of those title defenses…Alexander Volkanovski, who also came out and expressed that sometimes. We do these things to jump in and go and go and go, to try to entertain the masses.
Kamaru Usman on the ‘Weighing In’ Podcast with Big John McCarthy and Josh “The Punk” Thomson (@WeighingIn)
Despite his losing streak, Usman has caught the eye of new 170-pound champ Belal Muhammad. The two have traded barbs of late. Muhammad said he’s open to defending against either Usman or Shavkat Rakhmonov. Defeating a red-hot Muhammad will likely shut up the haters for good. The last two years have not been kind to Usman, Adesanya, or Volkanovski.
Usman associates himself with Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski because they were also active champions. Like them, he pushed through, ignoring recovering to get out there and entertain as much as possible. The future Hall of Famer admitted that he was a big beneficiary of his championship run. However, he called out the fans, who immediately turned on the champions after losing the belt.
Kamaru Usman discloses certain bitter truths about MMA fans
Usman, 37, remains a top crop in the industry despite not being active for a while. It was a whole other thing when he, Alexander Volkanovski, and Israel Adesanya defended their belts five times. Kamaru Usman has wins over Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos, Colby Covington, and Jorge Masvidal.
Kamaru Usman offended by ‘washed’ comments (Source: heavy.com)The Nigerian-American and his hold over the championship belt were so bloated that even Dana White admits he is the undeniable welterweight G.O.A.T. of the current era. Taking a short-notice middleweight scrap for UFC 294 against the explosive ‘Borz’ was met with much acclaim. However, like many other champions, he has also been subject to the mob mentality.
Now, I’m in a place where, okay, with all of that comes a lot of injuries. All the things that you’ve been dealing with, it kind of catches up to you…Because you know, you stack up all these injuries over time and it starts to diminish your performances to where people start to forget just how good you are, just how much time you spent building your career…Which is how disrespectful are MMA fans. How disrespectful are they, oh he’s washed, oh he can’t do this anymore.
Kamru Usman further said on the ‘Weighing In’ Podcast (@WeighingIn)
He looks forward to returning to the octagon without the pressure of defending a championship belt. Though fans and Muhammad consider Rakhmonov and Jack Della Maddalena worthy opponents, it’s worth noting that Usman is ranked higher than both. ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ hopes to return and prove as a title contender just how good he was and can be again.
